Challenge
An aerospace Tier-1 supplier managing programs across military and commercial platforms had 34% supplier quality defects, 8-month procurement lead times, and limited visibility into supplier capacity, creating recurring schedule delays and $18M annual rework costs.
Solution
NorthStar conducted a comprehensive supplier risk assessment across 420 active suppliers, segmenting them into strategic, preferred, and transactional tiers. We designed a supplier development program targeting top 40 strategic suppliers, implementing SPC (Statistical Process Control) and quality metrics aligned to contract terms. We also established early supplier involvement (ESI) protocols for new programs, created a supply capacity planning model that forecasted 18 months ahead, and deployed a supplier performance dashboard tracking quality, delivery, and responsiveness metrics.
Outcome
Supplier defect rates dropped to 8%, lead time variability reduced by 31%, and schedule compliance reached 99.2%. Rework costs fell to $3.2M, and supplier collaboration initiatives reduced design cycle time by 4 months on new programs.